UC Irvine students facing discipline for blackface fraternity video

Ainaria Johnson, 21, left, and Mackala Lacey, 20, the co-chairs of UC Irvine's Black Student Union, are protesting an amateur video produced by fraternity students in which a student portraying rap artist Jay-Z appears in blackface. They say the video is a symptom of racial intolerance at the university. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE – UC Irvine administrators are considering taking disciplinary action against an Asian fraternity that produced an amateur music video earlier this month in which a student portrayed a rap artist in blackface.

Lambda Theta Delta, which bills itself as the campus's oldest and largest Asian Greek fraternity, issued an apology Wednesday for the "extremely racist content" of the two-minute film posted to YouTube.

In the video, filmed about two weeks ago to promote a fraternity event, four Lambda Theta Delta members dance and lip-sync to the hit single "Suit and Tie" by Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z. The one portraying Jay-Z wears blackface make-up.

"They are very remorseful," Lambda Theta Delta chapter President Darius Obana, 21, said Thursday. "It was an eye-opening experience that we need to watch what we do and what we say and how we represent ourselves. What might have seemed harmless to them is not harmless to other people."

The campus's Black Student Union, meanwhile, protested the video Wednesday at a meeting of the Multicultural Greek Council. Chanting "While there is racism, we will not rest," about 60 demonstrators demanded accountability from Greek leaders, saying the video was a symptom of ongoing intolerance and racism on the Irvine campus.

"We are not attempting at all to single out this individual, his organization or the Greeks," Ainaria Johnson, 21, co-chair of the campus's Black Student Union, said in an interview. "We are speaking about a racism problem on campus that our administration doesn't do anything about."

Thomas Parham, UC Irvine's vice chancellor for student affairs, said the university opened an investigation Wednesday and likely would take disciplinary action within a couple of days. The students who made the video were apologetic and cooperative with investigators, he said.

"We're appalled at the lack of judgment, thinking this would be a source of comedy," Parham said. "The university does not condone or support that behavior in any way."

Blackface, which describes performers who wear blackface makeup, was a commonly used theatrical technique in 19th-century vaudeville acts; it has been condemned for perpetuating racist stereotypes and attitudes toward black Americans.

Parham said the university has cultural and diversity awareness events every month, as well as a campus climate council and an anonymous hotline for complaints on racism and intolerance.

"The incident is an indicator for us that we need to further penetrate and intensify our efforts," Parham said.

On Thursday, Johnson of the Black Student Union said a second Lambda Theta Delta video had recently surfaced online showing a student in blackface at a party.

She also cited a photo circulating on Facebook of a wooden paddle on which the words "Big Slave Driver" and "Little Slave" were inscribed; Johnson and other students said the photo was taken at a different Greek event at UC Irvine.

"Our end goal is to create some type of punitive measure, so when this happens again, there is some punishment for the student or organization that shows disrespect or racism," said Johnson, a fourth-year African American studies major.

Ainaria Johnson, 21, left, and Mackala Lacey, 20, the co-chairs of UC Irvine's Black Student Union, are protesting an amateur video produced by fraternity students in which a student portraying rap artist Jay-Z appears in blackface. They say the video is a symptom of racial intolerance at the university. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mackala Lacey, 20, right, spends time in the Black Student Union office at UC Irvine's Cross-Cultural Center. The office is a social hub for many African American students at UC Irvine, who make up about 2 percent of the student body. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
UC Irvine students, from left, Yared Yonas, Teyent Engeda, Lillyan Engeda and Stephanie Chukwu hang out together outside the Black Student Union. UC Irvine's Black Student Union is protesting an amateur video produced by fraternity students in which a student portraying rap artist Jay-Z appears in blackface. They say the video is a symptom of ongoing racial intolerance at the university. ANA VENEGAS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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